This invention is directed to a linkage for use in toys which allows for novel movement of the toy. Various elements of the linkage are articulated with respect to one another so as to move with respect to one another and further including other elements connecting the articulated elements so as to propagate movement among the elements.
Many toys are known which utilize a series of component parts which are attached together one to the other in a line or sequence. Included in this category would be a variety of toys ranging from infant pull toys having a line of jointed parts to more sophisticated toys just such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,809,467. The toy of that patent has a series of joined blocks with fabric or other flexible connectors which allows for one block progressed along the sequence in a seemly "magically manner". In between these two extremes are other jointed toys such as the articulated characters and vehicles shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,751,643 and 2,852,887 and the articulated construction toy shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,496,810.
All of the above referred to articulated toys have parts which are joined together in a sequence. In all except the U.S. Pat. No. 2,809,467 the sequence is a fixed sequence. For those toys having a fixed sequence, however, the articulated structure simply pivotally joins one part to a second part. While this allows for movement of the individual articulated parts with respect to one another, if the parts are individually moved by an outside influence it does not allow for propagation of movement along the totality of the articulated structure to all of the parts.
Nature in designing the skeletal muscle system of many creatures has provided a unique articulated structure which allows for complex bending movements. This is very evident in reviewing the movements of a variety of the diversed animal structures such as snakes for their complex wiggling and the like and the legs of the larger land forms which have a unique movement about their knees and elbows. Nature achieves these complex articulated movements utilizing a support system formed of bones which are articulated one to the other one and which are connected by and moved by a complex array of muscles. In developing an articulated structure for use in toys, the toy designer is quite limited since the design cannot use a plurality of muscles structures in the same manner as nature does.